Deep in the Bowels of Hollow Bastion
by Melawen Surion
Summary: AU. A slightly darker look on why only few of the FF characters made it into Kingdom Hearts.


Deep in the Bowels of Hollow Bastion.  
  
Cloud Strife let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his strong lungs as he stared into the flickering flame of the white candle that was covering the bronze holder with hot wax. He had made it home, back to Yuffie, Cid, and. Aeris. Yes, he had made it back to her like he always said and quested that he would some day. It had been years since he last saw her, and it had always seemed to raise his spirits a few degrees.  
  
But recently, something about Aeris's face left him uneasy and thinking. Everyone could not remember what had happened to this world the day it was taken over. but Cloud had a pretty good idea. He had always been tied to the darkness, tied to some evil in this damned world.Ever since he was a kid. He could remember Sephiroth, and his amazing want to become him. He could remember the day that Sephiroth was killed, remembered seeing his physical form deteriorate into the Lifestream, and being able to destroy the power and hold he had over Cloud. But there was something about that whole "mission" that bothered him.  
  
A long, silver blade.a place of great age, wisdom, and.anger.the place where she knelt.Yes, Cloud could remember all of that. But what had happened during that, he could not remember. He could also remember that the place was of certain importance. And it was responsible for the green lights that were. the Lifestream on Meteor. But something had to call apon them, correct? Something had to guide the flow of the Lifestream to Midgar, to the site of destruction. He could remember Aeris had something to do with that, but what. well, he wasn't sure.  
  
But most importantly, Cloud remembered his two best friends that he had ever made: Zack and Tifa. They were always looking out for him, Zack physically, and Tifa emotionally. He believed strongly that his survival of the Shinra would not have happened without them. He could remember strong ties between Zack and Aeris. And himself with Tifa.  
  
"Tifa." the word escaped his mouth in a soft groan.  
  
He knew it now; he loved Tifa, not Aeris. He saw Aeris sometimes wander off alone while they were traveling, and she would weep. Tifa would find her, and she would pour out her emotions onto her. She spoke of her mother and her people. She spoke of heartache and how she dearly missed Zack. She spoke of the mission. her mission that would be. cut short!  
  
Cloud opened his eyes wide, and dropped down the arm that he was resting his head on for support. Aeris had died! How was she here in Hollow Bastion with him? More importantly, where were the others? How did only Yuffie, Cid, and Aeris make it with him? How the hell was Sephiroth alive again? None of it made any sense to Cloud at all. And so he began to question who he was again. something he hadn't done in years.  
  
He looked over the ledge of the second floor to the huge library and down at Yuffie and Aeris who were talking but right below him. It was then he had noticed it: Yuffie and Aeris had looked exactly the same as to when he saw them the first time. No signs of aging or maturity graced their bodies, but they stood young and strong even after the nine years since he saw them last. Quickly, the purple and red-cloaked blonde sprang from his seat and darted across the room to the other table, where a mirror lay. He looked over into it, and.  
  
He looked the same as well.  
  
It wasn't right! Cloud was supposed to be in his thirties by now, and he still looked as if he were 21, the same age as when he had started the mission to kill Sephiroth, and that was before they even came to Hollow Bastion! It drove him mad, the curiosity as to what had happened got the best of him. He raced outside, the torn and eaten-away cape fluttering madly behind him.  
  
He exited the main hall and rain to the first fenced balcony he saw, and looked up at the sky. It was a deep, emerald green, and the stars, or what looked like stars were more of a yellow-green.  
  
  
  
*~* A/N: Yeah, what pissed me off about Kingdom Hearts is at the end where Cloud "goes back to Aeris", proving that Squaresoft wanted them to be together, and not Cloud and Tifa. There were so many theories and ideas about the Cloud and Tifa pairing, and it got so much support, but Squaresoft blew that all away with one scene during the credits of one game. I thought that the fanfiction was a huge part in the FF7 community, and it was by far the best out of any of the other of the Final Fantasies, because you had the OPTION of a love interest, of a different case scenario, not some kinda weird ass pairing someone got off the top of their heads. (I saw a Hiro/Hilde fanfiction while browsing through some Gundam Wing ones. Please.)  
  
Anyway, as for the story, for those of you who don't get it, Hollow Bastion could be the equivalent of the Lifestream. which is why perhaps Maleficent wanted control of it. I don't know. my friend and me had this huge discussion about it, so I got the idea for this story. Oh well. Hope you liked it. 


End file.
